Ink jet recording head having structural members in ink supply port

ABSTRACT

An ink jet recording head has sufficient and uniform ink refill for all orifices and separate flow paths even though the substrate has high rigidity by dividing a supply port into a plurality of ports. The substrate of the ink jet recording head has a plurality of separate flow paths corresponding to discharge pressure generating elements, a common flow path communicating with the separate flow paths, an ink supply port communicating with the common flow path and supplying ink to the common flow path, and a plurality of beam portions dividing the ink supply port. A recess is formed on the common flow path, extending to the separate flow paths formed nearest to the beam portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head for recordingdata by discharging ink and a manufacture method for the ink jetrecording head.

2. Related Background Art

As an ink jet recording head to be used for an ink jet recording systemfor recording data by discharging ink, a so-called “side shooter typerecording head” is known which discharges an ink droplet along adirection perpendicular to a substrate formed with ink discharge energygenerating elements.

As a liquid discharge method for this recording head, the specificationof U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,673 discloses the structure that an ink dropletis discharged when a bubble formed by heating a heat generating resistormember communicates with external air. According to this dischargemethod, small droplet recording can be realized easily and recent highprecision recording requirements are satisfied.

The structure of a “side shooter type recording head” is known by whichink is supplied from the bottom of a substrate to discharge pressuregenerating elements via a supply port and a common flow path andseparate flow paths. As a manufacture method for an ink jet recordinghead having this structure, for example, the specification of U.S. Pat.No. 6,139,761 discloses a method of forming an ink supply port in adevice substrate by anisotropical etching.

Recent needs are to develop a head which has a long train of orificesand can draw a large area at one scan. As the orifice train iselongated, the ink supply port becomes long correspondingly. As the inksupply port is simply elongated as a through hole formed through adevice substrate, rigidity of the device substrate is loweredconsiderably. As the rigidity of the device substrate lowers, there is arisk of breaking the substrate during manufacture of an ink jetrecording head and influencing a manufacture yield. In order to raisethe rigidity of a device substrate, the size of the device substrate maybe increased. However, a large substrate size reduces the number ofheads to be manufactured from one wafer, resulting in a cost increase.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-039692 discloses thestructure that an ink supply port is divided into a plurality of portsby using beams. FIG. 8A is a partially transmissive plan view showing anexample of an ink jet recording head with a plurality of divided inksupply ports, FIG. 8B is a cross sectional view taken along line 8B-8Bof FIG. 8A, FIG. 8C is a cross sectional view taken along line 8C-8C ofFIG. 8A, and FIG. 8D is a cross sectional view taken along line 8D-8D ofFIG. 8A. An ink jet recording head 300 shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C and 8Dhas the structure that a plurality of beam portions 311 a are formed ina single, long ink supply port 311 formed in a substrate 301, and thisstructure is very effective for retaining the rigidity of the substrate301. However, as the ink supply port 311 is divided by the beam portions311 a, a separate flow path 306 (communicating with a common flow path308 and corresponding to each discharge pressure generating element 305)positioned between ink supply ports 311, i.e., near at the beam portion311 a has an insufficient ink supply, so that ink refill is delayed morethan other separate flow paths 306 formed at positions remote from thebeam portion 311 a.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H06-115075 proposes that abottom region of a common flow path on the surface of a substrate isetched widely to form a groove and a supply port communicating with thegroove is formed. With this groove, it is expected that the supply portcan be shortened and the supply port can be broadened correspondingly toimprove ink refill for all separate flow paths and that a differencebetween ink refill due to a different relative position to the supplyport can be relaxed. With this method, it is necessary to form a deepergroove in order to sufficiently relax the ink refill difference.However, as the groove is formed deeper in a wide region, the strengthand rigidity of the substrate are lowered. The lowered strength of thesubstrate may cause breakage of the head during manufacture processes,resulting in a degraded yield. As the substrate rigidity is lowered,deformation of the substrate becomes large during manufacture processesor in use, so that ink discharge directions vary among orifices and theimage quality is degraded.

In order to form a supply port at a good precision, the supply port isformed in some cases by dry etching such as reactive ion etching (RIE).Generally, although dry etching provides a high precision, it hasdisadvantage in terms of tact as compared to other etching processesbecause of single wafer processing and a low etching rate. In order toovercome the disadvantages, a substrate as thin as possible, to theextent that the strength and rigidity of the substrate are ensured, isprepared, or a substrate is thinned by grinding, wet etching or the likehaving a high processing performance. Thereafter, the supply port isformed by dry etching. In this case, if a groove is formed in a widerange on the bottom of the common flow path, the groove cannot besufficiently deep in order to maintain the strength and rigidity of thesubstrate, so that the advantages of the groove cannot be obtained.

This method is associated with some issue of manufacture processes. Forexample, a method has been proposed to set a distance between thedischarge pressure generating element and an orifice at a high precisionand with good reproductivity by forming a flow path mold, a flow pathwall and an orifice plate by solvent coating. However, if solventcoating is performed after the groove is formed deeply in a wide rangeof the substrate, the flow path mold and orifice plate have a saucershape tracing the groove shape. Even if the groove is formed on thesubstrate, the orifice plate as the ceiling of the flow path has thesaucer shape in conformity with the groove, so that the expectedadvantages cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention can provide an ink jet recording head and itsmanufacture method in which refill is sufficient and uniform for allorifices and separate flow paths and the substrate has a high rigidityby dividing the supply port into a plurality of ports.

In order to achieve this object, an ink jet recording head of thepresent invention comprises:

an orifice plate having orifices for discharging ink;

a substrate having a plurality of discharge pressure generating elementsfor discharging ink from the orifices and an ink supply port forsupplying ink to the discharge pressure generating elements;

a plurality of separate flow paths corresponding to the dischargepressure generating elements; and

a common flow path communicating with the separate flow paths and theink supply port,

wherein:

the substrate includes a plurality of beam portions formed to divide theink supply port; and

a recess is formed in a region corresponding to the common flow path ofthe substrate, the recess extending to the separate flow paths formednearest to the beam portion.

According to the ink jet recording head of the present invention, it ispossible to retain a sufficient rigidity of the substrate and providesufficient and uniform refill of each separate flow path.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially broken perspective view of an ink jet recordinghead according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D are a partially transmissive plan view and crosssectional views of the ink jet recording head according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E, 3F, 3G and 3H are diagrams illustratingmanufacture processes for the ink jet recording head according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D are a partially transmissive plan view and crosssectional views of an ink jet recording head according to a secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D are a partially transmissive plan view and crosssectional views of an ink jet recording head according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D are a partially transmissive plan view and crosssectional views of an ink jet recording head according to a fourthembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C and 7D are a partially transmissive plan view and crosssectional views of an ink jet recording head according to a fifthembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C and 8D are a partially transmissive plan view and crosssectional views of a conventional ink jet recording head.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a partially broken perspective view of an ink jet recordinghead of the first embodiment. FIG. 2A is a partially transmissive planview of the ink jet recording head of the first embodiment, FIG. 2B is across sectional view taken along line 2B-2B of FIG. 2A, FIG. 2C is across sectional view taken along line 2C-2C of FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2D is across sectional view taken along line 2D-2D of FIG. 2A.

As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet recording head 100 of the embodiment isconstituted of a substrate 1 having a plurality of discharge pressuregenerating elements 5 and an orifice plate 4 having orifices 12corresponding to the discharge pressure generating elements 5. Thedischarge pressure generating elements 5 and Al wirings (not shown) forsupplying an electric signal to the discharge pressure generatingelements 5 are formed on the substrate 1 by film forming techniques.

Formed in the substrate 1 are a plurality of separate flow paths 6corresponding to the discharge pressure generating elements 5, a commonflow path 8 communicating with each separate flow path 6, and ink supplyports 11 supplying ink from an external to the common flow path 8 anddivided by beam portions 11 a. A recess 9 is formed in a region towardthe separate flow path 6 formed nearest to each beam portion 11 adividing the ink supply ports 11, by etching the substrate 1 deeper thana common flow path bottom 8 a of the common flow path 8. For thepurposes of simplicity, in FIGS. 2A and 2D, the ink supply port 11 isdivided into four ink supply ports 11 by three beam portions 11 a.Namely, a recess bottom 9 a of the recess 9 is made flush with a beamportion upper surface 11 b of the beam portion 11 a.

If the ink supply port 11 is made long, the opening becomes long so thatthe rigidity of the substrate 1 is lowered considerably. In order toretain the rigidity of the substrate 1, a plurality of beam portions 11a are provided, If the beam portion upper surface 11 b of the beamportion 11 a is set to the same height as that of the common flow path8, a flow of ink from the ink supply port 11 to each separate flow path6 near the beam portion 11 a is influenced considerably by the beamportion 11 a. In order to mitigate the influence of the beam portion 11a upon the ink flow, the recess 9 is formed for the separate flow path6, and the beam upper surface 11 b of the beam portion 11 a is set tothe same height as that of the recess bottom 9 a of the recess 9, asdescribed above. The recess 9 is formed only for the separate flow path6 of the beam portion 11 a so that reduction in the rigidity to becaused by the recess 9 is suppressed as much as possible.

The discharge pressure generating element 5 is an energy generatingelement for generating a discharge energy to be applied to ink. As thedischarge pressure generating element 5 is driven to generate heat, inkon the discharge pressure generating element 5 is heated suddenly andvoids are generated in the separate flow path 6 because of film boiling.A pressure generated by growth of the voids discharges ink from theorifice 12.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E, 3F, 3G and 3H,description will be made on a manufacture method for the ink jetrecording head 100 of the embodiment.

A heat generating resistor member as the discharge pressure generatingelement 5 and its drive circuit are formed on a silicon substrate 1 bygeneral semiconductor device manufacture processes (FIG. 3A). Thesurface of the substrate 1 on the side of the heat generating resistormember is called a top surface 1 b and the surface opposite to the topsurface 1 b is called a bottom surface 1 c.

Next, resist is coated on the top surface 1 b of the substrate 1. Byusing photolithography techniques, the resist is exposed, developed andremoved in an area from the position where the ink supply port 11 isformed to a position in front of the position where the separate flowpath 6 is formed, near the region between the ink supply ports 11, i.e.,near the beam portion 11 a. This removed region may not be terminated atthe position in front of the position where the separate flow path 6 isformed, but may be extended to the inside of the separate flow path 6.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the region where the resist was removed isetched to form a recess 9. The recess 9 may be formed by dry etching,wet etching or physical processing such as laser processing and ionmilling. For etching, an inductively coupled plasma (ICP)—reactive ionetching (RIE) etcher may be used and SF6 and C2F8 gases may be used.FIG. 3C is a cross sectional view taken along line 3C-3C of FIG. 3B.

A silicon oxide film is formed by plasma CVD, the silicon oxide filmbeing used as an etching stopper layer.

Next, polymethylisopropenylketone is solvent-coated, thepolymethylisopropenylketone being UV resist capable of being melted at alater process. This resist is exposed to UV light and developed to forma flow path mold 13 (FIG. 3D).

Cation polymer type epoxy resin as negative resist is coated to form aceiling of an ink flow path and a flow path wall partitioning each flowpath. This negative resist is exposed and developed by using a photomaskhaving a predetermined pattern to remove the negative resist in anorifice 12 and an electrode pad to form an orifice plate 4 (FIG. 3E).

Resist is coated on both the surfaces 1 b and 1 c of the substrate 1.The resist on the bottom surface 1 c is patterned by photolithographytechniques, having a predetermined pattern with an opening at theposition where the ink supply port 11 is formed. By using this resist asa mask, the ink supply port 11 is formed through the substrate 1 by dryetching (FIG. 3F). The ink supply port 11 may be formed by dry etching,wet etching, mechanical processing such as drill and sand blast, orphysical processing such as laser processing and ion milling. Similar tothe process of forming the recess 9, dry etching may use an ICP-RIEetcher. FIG. 3G is a cross sectional view taken along line 3G-3G of FIG.3F.

The resist on both the surfaces 1 b and 1 c of the substrate is removedwith remover liquid. The flow path mold 13 is exposed via the orificeplate and immersed in methyl lactate to remove the flow path mold 13 andform the common flow path 8 and separate flow paths 6 corresponding tothe discharge pressure generating elements 5. In this case, ultrasonicwaves may be applied (FIG. 3H).

Lastly, the ink jet recording head 100 of the embodiment is obtained bydicing the substrate.

The ink jet recording head 100 of the embodiment has a plurality of beamportions 11 a in the ink supply port 11 so that the rigidity of thesubstrate 1 can be retained. Further, the ink jet recording head 100 ofthe embodiment has the recess 9 etched deeper than the common flow pathbottom 8 a of the common flow path 8, the recess being formed only onthe separate flow paths 6 nearest to the beam portion 11 a correspondingto the discharge pressure generating elements 5 nearest to the beamportion 11 a. It is therefore possible to suppress reduction in therigidity of the substrate 1. Furthermore, in the ink jet recording head100 of the embodiment, the recess bottom 9 a of the recess 9 is madeflush with the beam portion upper surface 11 b of the beam portion 11 a.Namely, the beam portion 11 a mitigates the influence upon an ink flowfrom the ink supply port 11 to each separate flow path 6.

As described above, the ink jet recording head 100 of the embodiment hasthe structure that the recess 9 is formed only on the separate flowpaths 6 formed nearest to the beam portion 11 a. It is thereforepossible to satisfy both suppression of reduction in the rigidity of thesubstrate 1 and sufficient and uniform ink refill of each separate flowpath 6.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 4A is a partially transmissive plan view of an ink jet recordinghead of the second embodiment, and FIGS. 4B, 4C and 4D are crosssectional views thereof. FIG. 4B is a cross sectional view taken alongline 4B-4B of FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C is a cross sectional view taken alongline 4C-4C of FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4D is a cross sectional view taken alongline 4D-4D of FIG. 4A.

In the ink jet recording head 101 of the embodiment, the opening crosssectional shape of the ink supply port 11 is a parallelogram, and thebeam portion 11 a is also a parallelogram as shown in FIG. 4A. Namely,the opening cross sectional shape of the ink supply port 11 is aparallelogram, and the side 11 d of the beam portion 11 a is parallel tothe short side 11 c of the ink supply port 11 a. The other structuresare fundamentally similar to those of the ink jet recording head 100 ofthe first embodiment, and the detailed description is omitted andsimilar reference symbols are used. In the second embodiment, althoughthe opposite recesses 9 of the beam portion 11 a communicate with twoseparate flow paths 6, one may communicate with one separate flow path 6and the other may communicate with two separate flow paths 6 as shown inthe first embodiment.

The shape of the ink supply port 11 of the ink jet recording head 101 ofthe second embodiment is a parallelogram, because the layout of separateflow paths displaces by a half pitch on opposite sides of the ink supplyport 11. With the parallelogram arrangement, the relative positions ofthe discharge pressure generating element 5 and recess 9 as measuredfrom opposite ends of the ink supply port 11 become the same on bothsides of the ink supply port 11. It is therefore possible to maintaingenerally the same ink flow change characteristics even if ink isdischarged randomly.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 5A is a partially transmissive plan view of an ink jet recordinghead of the third embodiment, FIG. 5B is a cross sectional view takenalong line 5B-5B of FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C is a cross sectional view takenalong line 5C-5C of FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5D is a cross sectional view takenalong line 5D-5D of FIG. 5A.

The ink jet recording head 102 of the embodiment has an orifice sidebeam 4 a at the position corresponding to the ink supply port 11 along alongitudinal direction of the ink supply port 11. The other structuresare fundamentally similar to those of the ink jet recording head 101 ofthe second embodiment, and the detailed description is omitted andsimilar reference symbols are used.

Generally, the orifice plate 4 of a side shooter type ink jet recordinghead floats over the ink supply port 11 in a wide range and the strengthand rigidity of the substrate structure are weakened. In thisembodiment, in order to prevent the orifice plate in the regioncorresponding to the ink supply port 11 from being floated and to retainthe strength and rigidity of the ink jet recording head, the orificeside beam 4 a is formed on the orifice plate. The cross sectional shapeof the orifice side beam 4 a may be any shape so long as it retains therigidity of the orifice plate 4. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.5B, the cross sectional shape of the orifice side beam 4 a in the regionnot corresponding to the recess 9 is rectangular in order to increasethe cross sectional area as much as possible. On the other hand, asshown in FIG. 5C, the cross sectional shape of the orifice side beam inthe region corresponding to the recess 9 is a smooth curved shape nothindering an ink flow in order to have a sufficient and uniform inkrefill of the separate flow path 6. The orifice side beam 4 a maygradually increase a side thickness. The orifice side beam 4 a may beformed not on the side facing the substrate, but on the opposite side.

The orifice side beam 4 a can be formed by exposing, developing andremoving the region where the orifice side beam 4 a is formed above theink supply port 11, when the flow path mold 13 is patterned in themanufacture process for the ink jet recording head described with thefirst embodiment.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 6A is a partially transmissive plan view of an ink jet recordinghead of the third embodiment, FIG. 6B is a cross sectional view takenalong line 6B-6B of FIG. 6A, FIG. 6C is a cross sectional view takenalong line 6C-6C of FIG. 6A, and FIG. 6D is a cross sectional view takenalong line 6D-6D of FIG. 6A.

The ink jet recording head 103 of the embodiment has a deep recess 109having the same depth as that of the recess 9 of the above-describedembodiments and having no step relative to the beam portion 11 a and ashallow recess 119 shallower by Δh than the deep recess 109. The otherstructures are fundamentally similar to those of the ink jet recordinghead 102 of the third embodiment, and the detailed description isomitted and similar reference symbols are used.

Similar to each of the above-described embodiments, the deep recess 109is formed extending to the separate flow paths 6 nearest to the beamportion 11 a. The shallow recess 119 is formed corresponding to theremaining separate flow paths 6 relatively remote from the beam portion11 a. Namely, the shallow recess is formed extending to the separateflow paths 6 other than the separate flow paths 6 nearest to the beamportion 11 a. In the ink jet recording head 103 of the embodiment, therecess is formed for all separate flow paths 6, extending to a positionin front of, or inside the ink supply port 11. Accordingly, not only arefill speed for all separate flow paths is improved but also adifference between ink refill characteristics of the separate flow paths6 can be reduced and the uniform refill characteristics can be retained.

The deep recess 109 and shallow recess 119 having different depths canbe formed by repeating resist patterning and etching a plurality oftimes to form recesses having desired depths. Alternatively, a so-calleddual mask method may be used to conduct etching to a desired depth byusing each mask.

Fifth Embodiment

FIG. 7A is a partially transmissive plan view of an ink jet recordinghead of the third embodiment, FIG. 7B is a cross sectional view takenalong line 7B-7B of FIG. 7A, FIG. 7C is a cross sectional view takenalong line 7C-7C of FIG. 7A, and FIG. 7D is a cross sectional view takenalong line 7D-7D of FIG. 7A.

The ink jet recording head 104 of the embodiment has a long recess 209having the same length as that of the recess 9 of the above-describedembodiments and having no step relative to the beam portion 11 a and ashort recess 219 shorter by ΔL than the long recess 209. Namely, theshort recess 219 is formed in the substrate 1 of the embodiment betweenthe ink supply port 11 and separate flow paths 6 other than the separateflow paths 6 nearest to the beam portion. The short recess 219 isshorter by ΔL in full length than that of the long recess 209. The otherstructures are fundamentally similar to those of the ink jet recordinghead 102 of the third embodiment, and the detailed description isomitted and similar reference symbols are used.

Similar to each of the above-described embodiments, the long recess 209is formed extending to the separate flow paths 6 nearest to the beamportion 11 a. The short recess 219 is formed corresponding to theremaining separate flow paths 6 relatively remote from the beam portion11 a. In the ink jet recording head 104 of the embodiment, the recess isformed for all separate flow paths 6, extending to a position in frontof, or inside the ink supply port 11. Accordingly, not only a refillspeed for all separate flow paths is improved but also a differencebetween ink refill characteristics of the separate flow paths 6 can bereduced and the uniform refill characteristics can be retained. Sincethe short recess 219 is shortened by ΔL than the long recess 209, thethickness of the substrate is left unetched by ΔL so that the rigidityof the substrate 1 can be improved by an amount corresponding to theleft thickness.

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2005-083556 filed Mar. 23, 2005, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein.

1. An ink jet recording head comprising: an orifice plate havingorifices for discharging ink; a substrate having a plurality ofdischarge pressure generating elements for discharging ink from saidorifices and an ink supply port for supplying ink to said dischargepressure generating elements; a plurality of separate flow pathscorresponding to said discharge pressure generating elements; and acommon flow path communicating with said separate flow paths and saidink supply port, wherein said substrate includes a plurality of beamportions formed to divide said ink supply port, a recess is formed in aregion corresponding to said common flow path of said substrate, saidrecess extending to said separate flow paths formed nearest to said beamportions, and a shallow recess is formed in a region extending to saidseparate flow paths other than said separate flow paths formed nearestto said beam portion, and said shallow recess has a shallower depth thana depth from a bottom of said common flow path to a bottom of saidrecess.
 2. An ink jet recording head comprising: an orifice plate havingorifices for discharging ink; a substrate having a plurality ofdischarge pressure generating elements for discharging ink from saidorifices and an ink supply port for supplying ink to said dischargepressure generating elements; a plurality of separate flow pathscorresponding to said discharge pressure generating elements; and acommon flow path communicating with said separate flow paths and saidink supply port, wherein said substrate includes a plurality of beamportions formed to divide said ink supply port, a recess is formed in aregion corresponding to said common flow path of said substrate, saidrecess extending to said separate flow paths formed nearest to said beamportions, and a short recess is formed in a region between said separateflow paths other than said separate flow paths formed nearest to saidbeam portions and said ink supply port, and said short recess has a fulllength shorter than a full length of said recess from said ink supplyport to said separate flow paths.
 3. An ink jet recording headcomprising: an orifice plate having orifices for discharging ink; asubstrate having a plurality of discharge pressure generating elementsfor discharging ink from said orifices and an ink supply port forsupplying ink to said discharge pressure generating elements; aplurality of separate flow paths corresponding to said dischargepressure generating elements; and a common flow path communicating withsaid separate flow paths and said ink supply port, wherein saidsubstrate includes a plurality of beam portions formed to divide saidink supply port, a recess is formed in a region corresponding to saidcommon flow path of said substrate, said recess extending to saidseparate flow paths formed nearest to said beam portions, and an openingcross-sectional shape of said ink supply port is a parallelogram and aside of said beam portions is formed parallel to a short side of saidink supply port.